Internal Combustion Engine with an Injector as a Compaction Level

ABSTRACT

The internal combustion engine includes a burner ( 8 ) which is continuously operated at overpressure, in an embodiment of this invention, a burner ( 13 ) is operated at atmospheric pressure. In each of these cases to this burner ( 8, 13 ) an exhaust gas turbine is connected downstream and to this a recuperator-heat exchanger ( 1 ) is connected downstream, which transfers residual heat from the exhaust gas to all gaseous and liquid media flowing into the internal combustion engine at the physically highest possible degree. The pre-heated combustion air or the smoke gas is compacted subsequently just by an ejector pump ( 30 ), without any mechanical compaction level. This succeeds by overheating the driving steam in a steam superheater ( 11, 21 ) with heat from the burners ( 8, 13 ) after having been heated in the heat exchanger ( 2 ) and subsequently by permanently renewing and superheating it during the isentropic expansion in the Laval-nozzle ( 22 ) by heat addition from the burner ( 8, 13 ). In further embodiments of the invention this is suitable as replacement for a conventional turbocharger and as an engine for a vehicle with recuperator use of breaking energy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims the benefit of the earlier filed parent international application number PCT/AT2006/000096 having an international filing date of Mar. 7, 2006, that claims the benefit of A 412/2005 having a filing date of Mar. 11, 2005.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention refers to an internal combustion engine in which the hot gas continuously produced through combustion is relaxed in an exhaust gas turbine and in which the necessary hot gas overpressure is generated before the exhaust gas turbine at least partially by means of an ejector pump. Downstream the exhaust gas turbine is a recuperator-heat exchanger, which transfers the residual heat from the discharged exhaust gas to the medium flowing into the internal combustion engine.

BACKGROUND

Such an internal combustion engine is known from the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,560 A1. This shows an exhaust gas turbine with a continuously operated combustion chamber upstream and a two level exhaust turbine. To the exhaust gas turbine with a mechanical compaction level a first heat exchanger is assigned, in which fuel is pre-heated which afterwards flows into the combustion chamber. In a second heat exchanger heat is withdrawn from the exhaust gas and is transferred to the combustion air previously cooled down in the first heat exchanger. In this application the compaction occurs without using a jet pump; hence the exhaust gas turbine shows a mechanical compaction level.

From the document GB 642 118 A an internal combustion engine is known, to which heat-exchangers are connected downstream, in which the combustion air is pre-heated for the continuous combustion in the exhaust gas turbine. Moreover steam for a steam generator is generated in the heat exchangers. A mixture of oil and steam is conveyed to the nozzles of the burner but the compaction is carried out likewise without a jet pump and therefore a mechanical compaction level is necessary.

From the document GB 1 282 555 it can be seen that an external heat source is designed before the Laval-nozzle for steam generation. The scope of this measure is the development of a high vacuum depression pump. Designing an external heat source for steam generation before the Laval-nozzle serves to obtain a higher negative pressure.

Basically there are known a multitude of gas turbines with recuperator waste heat utilization. Likewise are also known applications of steam processes in such machines. The following documents show exemplary state-of-the-art: DE 69528871 T2 and DE 69432191 T2 and DE 6923198 T2. But all these applications don't use the concurrence of injectors in gas turbines with recuperator waste heat utilization as per this invention.

SUMMARY

The task of this invention is to develop an internal combustion engine with a continuous combustion and a maximum possible physical recuperative waste heat utilization and to accomplish a compaction of the combustion air using exclusively an ejector pump. It will be possible to renounce completely the use of a mechanical compaction level.

The Laval-nozzle in this invention will have to differ considerably from a conventional Laval-nozzle. Its driving steam will have to have an exorbitantly increased kinetic energy at the spray hole compared to a usual injector. This driving steam has to be able to compact the combustion air, respectively in the embodiment according to this invention, the smoke gas in the same degree as a mechanical compaction level.

If, by way of comparison, the use of the therefore necessary ejector pump, modified according to this invention, were abandoned and a conventional ejector pump were used, such plethora of driving steam would be necessary for achieving a sufficient compaction pressure of the combustion air, that, the other way around, in the exhaust gas after the recuperator-heat exchanger so much irreversibly lost residual heat would exist, that no practically usable degree of efficiency of the combustion engine would be accomplished. Furthermore this plethora of steam would bring so much water into the combustion chamber that igniting a flame wouldn't be possible.

According to this invention all fluid and gaseous media, which flow into the internal combustion engine are led to the exhaust gas recuperator-heat exchanger and from the exhaust gas a maximum possible physical waste heat is extracted and is transferred on the flowing media.

This counter current heat exchanger has to be designed with regard to the size of the exchange surface in such a way, that the entire available residual heat from the exhaust gas is transferred on the driving steam. Out of physical reasons a part of the condensation heat contained in the steam of the exhaust gas is not transferable because the feed water flowing in must have a far higher pressure than the steam flowing off. The evaporation heat for the conversion into steam of the feed water flowing in is absorbed only at far over 100°, while the other way around the steam flowing off releases the adequate condensation heat at atmospheric pressure and at about 100°.

In another embodiment of the invention an internal combustion engine of the initially mentioned type is provided especially for burning solid fuel as piece goods. Solid fuel as piece goods can, by nature, burn only at a pressure in the burner close to the atmospheric pressure. For this type of combustion an exhaust gas turbine according to this invention shall be made serviceable. But it has to be usable in equal measure for gaseous and fluid fuel likewise at a pressure in the burner close to atmospheric pressure.

In another embodiment of the invention an internal combustion engine of the initially mentioned type has to be made serviceable, in order to be able to use the breaking energy of a car in a recuperative manner and in the same time to power this car. The breaking energy of the vehicle will be stored in a heat accumulator in the form of heat. When needed, it has to be possible to feed this again into the internal combustion engine.

In a further embodiment of this invention an internal combustion engine of the initially mentioned type has to be made serviceable in order to pre-compact the combustion air of a conventional internal-combustion piston engine, similar to the effect of the exhaust gas turbocharger. The conventional mechanical turbocharger is also replaced and instead the combustion air is pre-compacted only using steam, without any mechanically operated part.

The requirements are met by the fact that during the expansion in the Laval-nozzle the driving steam of the ejector pump is continuously renewed through heat transfer from a water tank from outside the injector.

As opposed to the conventional Laval-nozzle, inside the Laval-nozzle heated according to this invention no isentropic expansion of the steam takes place, but an at least approximate isotherm expansion within a Laval-nozzle heated from outside takes place. This polytrope (almost isotherm) expansion within the heated Laval-nozzle has as effect, that the steam coming from the nozzle is not inhomogeneously, partially condensed as in case of the conventional Laval-nozzle, or even partially transformed into ice, but it escapes as homogeneous, overheated medium, as specifically lighter superheated steam.

The superheated steam, which escapes from the heated Laval-nozzle, has a considerably higher speed compared to the steam escaping from conventional Laval-nozzles. Superheated steam, which escapes the Laval-nozzle as per this invention has due to its higher speed an adequately increased velocity impulse compared to the steam, which escapes from a conventional Laval-nozzle. A velocity of vapor achieved this way cannot be achieved by conventional nozzle due to physical conditions.

The steam in the Laval-nozzle heated as per this invention from the inlet to the outlet at a continuously dropping pressure and at least approximately constant temperature (through heat supply from outside to isothermal expansion) experiences an enlargement of the volume corresponding to the dropping pressure at an at least constant temperature. Thus the steam enthalpy increases during the expansion in the Laval-nozzle and in the same time damaging entropy switches are avoided. In conventional Laval-nozzles multiple shock section like condensation switches occur during the steam expansion, that is multiple damaging entropy switches.

The highly accelerated steam molecules which escape from the Laval-nozzle heated as per this invention have that much kinetic energy, that at a subsequent pulse transmission to the medium to be pumped a pressure is reached in the mixture of fuel and medium to be pumped, which could operate the one-stage gas turbine according to this invention with an efficiency corresponding at least to the efficiency of a conventional two-stage ISO-norm gas turbine with recuperator waste heat utilization. This isn't possible neither with a conventional, unheated Laval-nozzle, nor with a conventional Laval-nozzle with just a steam superheater connected upstream.

The driving steam which is renewed through heat during the expansion within the Laval-nozzle draws this heat directly or indirectly from the burner. The cladding of the Laval-nozzle transfers this heat to the driving steam streaming through this nozzle. The Laval-nozzle is mounted directly to the burner respectively to the smoke tube. The temperature of the heat tank in the burner respectively in the smoke tube is permanently a few hundred degrees over the temperature of the driving steam. This way the driving steam remains superheated despite its expansion; it is continuously renewed and escapes also superheated at the nozzle outlet.

The driving steam is heated before entering the Laval-nozzle by a recuperator-heat exchanger, which re-extracts heat from the exhaust gas after the exhaust gas turbine. Subsequently the driving gas is superheated through the steam superheater, which absorbs heat from the burnout at the burner respectively at the smoke tube downstream.

The steam in the steam superheater experiences at a constant pressure and at an irrelevant increase of its subsonic-flow rate an increase of its volume corresponding to the temperature increase. This form of heat supply represents an isobaric increase of the enthalpy.

The materials from the burner respectively smoke tube towards the Laval-nozzles have a high heat transfer coefficient. The materials consist preferably of high heat-conductive and appropriate temperature-resistant metal.

The heat transfer for the steam renewing of the driving steam within the Laval-nozzle as well as for the superheating of the driving steam in the steam superheater occurs over these thermal conductive connections to the burner respectively through the thermal conductive connections to the smoke tube downstream.

The compaction of the combustion air respectively of the smoke gas, which flows towards the exhaust gas turbine, occurs exclusively and solely by means of the ejector pump according to this invention without any requirement for a mechanical compactor.

In a conventional Laval-nozzle the water vapors reaches within the Laval-nozzle the stage of saturation and during the expansion of the steam pressure several shock section like condensation switches occur. These are multiple small entropy switches. Thereby the ice point of the condensate is partially undercut and ice crystals develop. Disequilibrium effects in the steam lead altogether to a considerable entropy increase of the driving steam in the Laval-nozzle. Its efficiency falls far below a value which could make the use of the Laval-nozzle instead of a mechanical compaction level for an exhaust gas turbine possible.

On the other hand, by heating the Laval-nozzle, the water vapors within the Laval-nozzle never reaches the stage of saturation, and no condensation switches occur during the expansion of the steam pressure. Disequilibrium effects in the steam entirely disappear. The other way around the heating of the driving gas leads to a considerable increase of the enthalpy of the driving steam within the Laval nozzle. Its efficiency reaches a value which makes the use of the Laval-nozzle instead of a mechanical compaction level for an exhaust gas turbine possible.

The entire heat used for the pre-heating of the medium to be pumped is fed into the medium to be pumped in the recuperator-heat exchanger respectively in the burner before its compaction in the injector. The type of compaction in an injector as a pulse transmission between the propellant to the medium to be pumped allows a heating of the air to be pumped already before the compaction.

Using this pumping force of the ejector pump it is possible to compact heated air to such extent as it is also required for exhaust gas turbines. Hot air can be pumped like cold air without any loss of efficiency. Combustion air can be conducted into the recuperator-heat exchanger at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature in order to be compacted by means of pulse transmission after it has absorbed maximum heat. The increased temperature of the medium doesn't play a damaging role with regard to the efficiency. This will be explained as follows:

In case of all conventional mechanical compactors a higher counter pressure develops on the compressor piston with the increased temperature of the medium to be compacted. Completely opposed to that, in the injector cannot occur a retroaction through a counter pressure. The driving pressure of the driving steam is completed in the Laval-nozzle and is fully converted into speed of the accelerated propellant. This leaves non-braked the Laval-nozzle and completely independent of the temperature of the compacted medium.

The molecules of the propulsion jet prepare for a free flight to the suction tube, where they collide only little by little with the molecules from the propellant, far away from the source nozzle. It is not important at all if now a molecule hit in such a way is itself in a strong or weak Brownian molecular movement, namely if the propellant is hot or cold. The process of compaction occurs advantageous that is only as pulse transmission.

All gaseous and liquid media flowing into an internal combustion engine are directed against the exhaust gas mixture flowing out in the recuperator-heat exchanger designed as a counter current heat exchanger in adequate heat exchange parts. The effective heat capacity of the flowing in media corresponds in essence to the exhaust gas mixture flowing out. Hence the medium flowing in its whole, consisting of feed water, fuel and combustion air, with exception of the condensation heat of the steam flowing out, can absorb the whole residual heat of the medium flowing out.

For the reason that each medium can absorb without any losses already before its compaction any amount of heat, reversely the conclusion can be reached that all waste heat which can be extracted recuperatively can actually be fed into the internal combustion engine. At a higher recirculation of residual heat the efficiency of this internal combustion engine increases adequately.

Assuming that the dimensions of the heat exchange surfaces of the recuperator-heat exchanger are designed adequately, until the exhaust gas exits, its temperature drops to the condensation temperature of the steam contained in the mixture flowing off; this is of 100° C. A further cooling down of the exhaust gas is not possible because the pressure of the mixture flowing off is atmospheric whereas the pressure of the feed water has to be far higher. Thereby the feed water evaporates at far over 100° and thus can not absorb the evaporation heat from the condensation heat of the steam flowing off at atmospheric pressure. This residual heat of the condensation heat is thus irreversibly lost for the internal combustion engine.

An ejector pump produces negative pressure in the injector, which in one embodiment of this invention drives the smoke gas from the burner operated at an almost atmospheric pressure. This smoke gas is subsequently compacted in the diffuser of the injector prior to the transition to the exhaust gas turbine. The compacted exhaust gas is subsequently relaxed in the one-stage exhaust gas turbine.

The said burner in this invention may be operated with wood piece goods, particularly because until now no technical device is known, that can make smoke gas, which was produced in a boiler at atmospheric pressure, directly serviceable for the drive of an exhaust gas turbine. The burner can be operated instead of with wood, with fluid, gaseous, or other solid fuels. In each case the combustion air flowing into the burner is previously heated in the recuperator-heat exchanger.

The smoke gas from the combustion of wood or coal has to be cleaned with a smoke gas filter connected between the combustion chamber and the exhaust gas turbine. Particularly the ashes of this combustion have to remain in the combustion chamber. If the ashes were to reach the heat exchanger and the exhaust gas turbine with the exhaust gas, these would be decommissioned and respectively they would degrade by degrees. Therefore the smoke gas is cleaned of soot and flue ash also with a filter between the combustion chamber and the exhaust gas turbine, and under the kiln run an ash bin is built-in, which separates ashes through a grid.

If fluid fuel is used, which can be vaporized without any residue, the fuel can be conducted together with the feed water by use of a pump as a homogeneous mixture through the recuperator-heat exchanger, subsequently through the steam superheater and subsequently through the Laval-nozzle to the pressure burner. Because the flow rate of the mixture consisting of water steam and fuel steam to the burner never drops under the burning flow rate of the fuel steam, the fuel never ignites. The mixture of water steam and fuel steam reaches the ignition flow rate of the fuel only in the diffuser of the burner.

Thus in the presented embodiment the fuel can be used as propellant together with the feed water. Thereby, in an advantageous manner, accordingly lesser feed water is needed for reaching a certain pressure. Lesser feed water means that lesser irreversibly wasted residual heat accumulates after the recuperator-heat exchanger. The efficiency of the internal combustion engine increases, this embodiment reaches its best efficiency as compared to all shown embodiments.

In the heated Laval nozzle we have in the divergent part of the nozzle in any case ultrasonic speed, if required or not. A gaseous medium which flows with ultrasonic speed is not allowed under any circumstances to be bent in its linear flow center line within the Laval-nozzle, because otherwise extremely damaging compaction switches would occur, which would increase the gas entropy with an extreme damaging effect.

Out of this the necessary solutions result, according to which the heat exchange surface of the Laval-nozzle is to be designed absolutely linearly and the possible heat exchanging surface of the Laval-nozzle towards the driving steam has to be multiply enhanced compared to a conventional Laval-nozzle, because considerable amounts of heat have to be transferred to the driving steam. The surface of a conventional Laval-nozzle, initially not designed as a heat exchanging surface, would be several fold too small.

Such an enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzle is effected according to this invention amongst others by distributing the driving steam to more parallel aligned Laval-nozzles, which absorb each a part of the entire steam stream. The entire steam stream is therefore distributed to more such Laval-nozzles as component gas flows.

A further enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzle is amongst others therefore possible, because the circumference of the nozzle is enhanced compared to a round nozzle section by flattening the nozzle section and at corresponding diminishing heights.

A further enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzle occurs amongst others through the flattening of the angle of rise of the divergent nozzle parts to less than 3°. This leads to an adequate extension of the longitudinal axis of the divergent nozzle parts with a subsequent enhancement of the heat exchange surface. Thus the divergent part of the Laval-nozzle has to be flattened to a high extent in order to achieve an enhancement of the heat exchange surface.

In another typical embodiment of this invention the heated Laval-nozzle is used for the pre-compaction of the charge air of a conventional internal-combustion piston engine. By means of the driving steam which was previously superheated in a steam superheater and then conducted through the heated Laval-nozzle which pre-compacts the combustion air before entering the conventional internal combustion engine. This function replaces the conventional exhaust gas turbocharger for the pre-compaction of the combustion air.

In another embodiment of this invention the gas flow is conducted after the heated Laval-nozzle and the injector through a heated bypass-heat accumulator. This gas flow is adjustable by use of a control valve; it can be amplified, diminished or cut off.

The bypass-heat accumulator manufactured preferably of mineral is heated by the breaking energy of a vehicle, which is transformed in the generator into electric current. The generator on this part is driven by one or more wheels of the vehicle. So the bypass-accumulator can be heated electrically using an external energy source. Through this bypass-accumulator more or less controlled driving gas which flows towards the burner is conducted. In doing so the gas mixture is heated and to the same extent to which it can absorb heat from the bypass-accumulator it saves fuel.

Through another heat exchanger a part of the residual heat after the recuperator-heat exchanger, into which previously all fluid and gaseous media which flow into the internal combustion engine had been conducted, can be used for heating or as process heat. In the recuperator-heat exchanger not only residual heat is returned to the maximum physical extent to the process but also the not usable condensation heat of the steam in the exhaust gas is used for heating purposes.

The heat exchange surface in the interior of the pressure burner in the embodiment of this invention respectively of the smoke tube with its attached steam superheater and the attached Laval-nozzles is enhanced by the fact that this surface shows a fissure which is preferably shaped as longitudinal rills. The heat transfer coefficient increases about to the same extent to which an enhancement of the surface is created opposed to a smooth, not uncleft surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further advantages and details of the invention are explained in the following by means of the embodiments of the invention represented in the drawings below:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic section of the internal combustion engine using an evaporable fuel and subsequently the residual heat for heating purposes. In this section also a use of feed water in a closed cycle is represented.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic section of the internal combustion engine when used with especially a solid fuel and at atmospheric combustion.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic section of the internal combustion engine in a set use, in which instead of an exhaust gas turbine 38 a conventional combustion engine 58 is used, which is charged with an injector 30, analogous to a turbocharger.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic section of the internal combustion engine used in vehicles with recuperator intermediate storage 43 of breaking energy.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic longitudinal section for the enhancement of the heat exchange surface in the Laval-nozzle with the constructive characteristic of the flattening of the aperture angle 27 of the divergent nozzle parts 24.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic longitudinal section for the enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzle with the constructive characteristic of the multiplication of the Laval-nozzles 22.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic section through the burner 8 with enhanced surface respectively the smoke tube 19 with enhanced surface and the multiple nozzles 22 on the burner 8 respectively on the smoke tube 19. Also shown in this representation is the enhancement of the heat exchange surface of the nozzles by flattening the admission section 29 of the Laval-nozzle 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows how in this internal combustion engine the compaction achieved without any mechanical compaction level only with an ejector pump 30. This type of compaction with an ejector pump could be used technically meaningful only additionally to mechanical compactors as a pre-compactor. The conventional steam jet compactor as sole compacting level would bring too much steam into the combustion air. Disproportional much not recaptured condensation heat would be lost and hence a low efficiency would be achieved. If alternatively the quantity of driving steam were reduced to an acceptable extent, the compaction pressure would drop to a technically non applicable level, therefore this would be not feasible.

According to this invention the compaction of the combustion air with sufficient pressure and a minimized water supply initially succeeds by exorbitantly superheating the steam, as represented, in the steam superheater 11 respectively 21 and afterwards by heating it especially in the Laval-nozzle 22, during the isentropic relaxation. This permanent heating occurs by the supply of a supplementary, saturated heat flow volume conveyed from burner 8 or the smoke tube 19, respectively, to the Laval-nozzle 22 and the steam superheater 11 respectively 21. This way damaging accumulation of saturated steam is completely avoided until leaking from the nozzle 26. The efficiency of the injector drops as is generally known to the same extent to which a condensate rate accumulates in the driving steam.

By means of the two represented procedures 11+22 a doubling of the speed of the driving steam at the exit 26 of the Laval-nozzle 22 compared to a conventional Laval-nozzle is achieved. Basically the steam superheaters 11, 21 could optionally also be abandoned, but in this case the Laval-nozzle 22 would have to be built accordingly bigger with disproportionately increased effort to achieve the transfer of the necessary heat flow volume.

The additional heat supplied for heating the steam superheater 11, 12 and the Laval-nozzle 22 happens by heat extraction from the burner 8, 13. To this end the steam superheater 11, 21 and the Laval-nozzle 22, as represented, is attached with a sufficient thermal contact as close as possible to the burner 8, and to the smoke tube 19.

In conventional (unheated) Laval-nozzles the temperature of the steam drops until the spray hole to the condensation temperature of the driving steam, during the isentropic relaxation in the Laval-nozzle.

Unlike this in case of the Laval-nozzle 22 an outlet temperature of the steam of 700° C. at the outlet nozzle 26 can be reached by a continuous supply of heat from the burner 8 from the exhaust gas in the smoke tube 19 at for instance a combustion temperature of 1000° C.

The heat extracted from the burner 8, 13 for increasing the enthalpy of the steam in the nozzle 22 and the steam superheater 11, 21, with subsequent entropy of the driving steam empties through the injector 31 again into the burner 8, 13. The heat extraction from the burner 8, 13 is also returned in an inner cycle to the burners 8, 13, always in a proportion of approximately 100%.

In other words: enthalpy from the burner 8, 13 is used in order to increase the pressure of the medium to be pumped, but the enthalpy flows back in an engine internal, closed circuit in a proportion of approximately 100% towards the starting point, the burner 8 respectively 13.

The recuperator-heat exchanger 1 offers the most different variants for the choice of the media conducted through the counter current flow-heat exchanger and the pressures selected thereby, which are substantiated by the particularities of the used fuel.

The represented FIG. 1 shows the best possible case with regard to the efficiency: when using evaporable fuels free of residue (alcohols, benzines etc:) the feed water can be mixed with the liquid fuel already before the single pressure pump 63 and conducted together under high pressure through the heat exchanger 6 and through the steam superheater 11 as well as through the heated Laval-nozzle 22. By using fuel as part of the driving steam the requirement of feed water decreases.

By reduced feed water demand similarly less condensation heat is needed after the exhaust 7 from the heat exchanger 1 and the efficiency of the internal combustion engine reaches its highest possible value of all shown embodiments.

After the represented cycle of the exhaust gas through the recuperator-heat exchanger 1 this shows a temperature of about 100° C., which corresponds to the condensation temperature of the driving steam. In the condensate of the driving steam there still is the biggest part of the condensation heat, which can not be used for the conversion into kinetic energy, it is irreversible.

This residual heat can be used as process heat of for heating purposes through a radiator 57. To this end the exhaust gas is cooled down in an additional heat exchanger 56 below the condensation temperature of the feed water. The water which is precipitating in the exhaust steam is separated after the cycle from the exhaust gas through the heat exchanger 2 in a water separator 51, in order to be subsequently freed from impurities from the fuel combustion in a filter 50. After that the regained feed water flows into a feed water tank 49. Because the feed water accumulates with the combustion water, superset results and is discharged from the tank 49.

After the conical suction pipe 33 of the injector 31 a straight mixing tube 35 with constant section is connected downstream. The tube opens out in a tube elbow 28, which conducts back the gas mixture to the burner 3. Another mixing tube 35 follows the tube elbow 36.

With the entry of the gas mixture into the diffuser 9 of the burner this is strongly decelerated. The flow rate of the fuel/steam/mixture of combustion air is reduced under the burning rate. The other way around the pressure increases at its highest possible level. This way the mixture is ignited at the beginning of this diffuser 9 in this specific embodiment in which the fuel is mixed with the driving steam and the combustion air.

The mixture, combustible in itself, could not be ignited previously either in the suction chamber, or in a mixing tube 35 or in the tube elbow 36, because the section of these components is always chosen in a way, that the flow rate of the burning gas mixture is permanently higher than the burning rate of the same.

FIG. 2 shows the invention when using preferably solid fuel which is burned especially at atmospheric pressure. The combustion is carried out with few ashes. In the heat exchanger 1 flows smoke gas freed of flue ash and soot due to the filter 20 inserted between the burner 21 and the exhaust gas turbine 38.

The feed water of the driving steam is pressed by the force pump 52 under maximum pressure through the recuperator-heat exchanger 1 and through the steam superheater 21 as well as through the heated Laval-nozzle 22.

According to the represented cycle of the exhaust gas through the recuperator-heat-exchanger 1 this shows a temperature of about 100° C. which corresponds to the condensation temperature of the driving steam. But a big part of the condensation heat, which can not be used any longer for the conversion into kinetic energy, is still in the condensate of the driving steam. This heat is irreversibly lost.

The other way around, the combustion air and the feed water are heated to a targeted maximum technical degree. The pre-heated feed water flows into the steam superheater 21 and the pre-heated combustion air flows into the burner 13. The suction of combustion air occurs by the suction effect of the suction chamber 33 of the injector. In the suction chamber 33 a transporting negative pressure is created through the exhaustion of the driving stream.

The residual heat in the exhaust gas, after the heat exchanger 2, can be used as process heat or, as represented, for heating purposes through a heat exchanger 56 and a radiator 57. For this purpose the exhaust gas is cooled down in the heat exchanger 2 under the condensation temperature of the feed water.

The feed water is separated from the exhaust gas in a water separator 51 after the cycle through the heat exchanger 2, in order to be cleaned in a filter 50 from the impurities of the fuel combustion. After that the recuperated feed water flows into the feed water tank 49 for re-use. Because with the feed water also accumulates with the combustion water, superset results and is discharged from the tank 49.

After the conical suction pipe 34 of the injector 31 a straight mixing tube 35 with constant section is connected downstream. The pipe opens out in the diffuser 37. There the pressure of the mixture increases to its highest possible level. After the injector 31 the steam/exhaust gas mixtures flows into the exhaust gas turbine 38.

By using the burner 13, in which ashes fall and the exhaust gas flows with few ashes, the use of solid fuel for operating the exhaust gas turbine 38 is possible. Additionally, the smoke gas is cleaned of flue ash and soot due by means of a filter 20 inserted between the burner 21 and the exhaust gas turbine 38.

Had rust existed in the exhaust gas, the exhaust gas turbine 38 would be damaged in time by the grading effect of the rust particles. Flue ashes would deposit extremely disadvantageously in the heat exchangers 2 and 56, whereby their operating capacity would be diminished.

The physical form of pumping hot exhaust gas through an ejector pump 30 differs in a considerable and decisive characteristic from all other pump embodiments. A gaseous medium can be compacted in any case to a similar pressure independent of its temperature with a specific available propulsion jet technique.

In contrast, in the case of for instance piston compressors, turbo compressors etc. the effort of pumping increases proportionately to the increasing temperature respectively volume of the propellant.

The molecules of the propulsion jet leave the Laval-nozzle 22 in free flight to the suction tube 34, where they collide only little by little with the molecules from the propellant in the mixing tube 35, far away from the source nozzle 26. It is not important at all if now a molecule hit in such a way is itself in a strong or weak Brownian molecular movement, namely if the propellant is hot or cold.

The process of compaction occurs advantageously only as pulse transmission. This pulse transmission between the propellant and the medium to be pumped makes it possible that a hot and widely expanded exhaust gas be transported in the same way as cold gas.

Using this pumping force of the ejector pump 30 it is possible to compact heated exhaust gas irrespectively of its temperature. Because the pumping is carried out as a pulse transmission only the mixing tube 35 must be lengthened to the same extent to which the volume of the gas to be pumped is increased compared to a cold gas. By this lengthening of the mixing tube 35 the collision probability of propelling molecules with hot molecules to be transported is equal to that with cold molecules to be transported.

FIG. 3 shows that the function of the exhaust gas turbine 38 can be adopted by a conventional combustion engine 58 for instance an internal combustion piston engine 58. Because these engines 58 show functionally a mechanical compaction level, the function of the ejector pump 30 reduces to the pre-compacting the combustion air.

The ejector pump 30 replaces to such an extent the conventional turbocharger with the advantage that this doesn't show mobile parts and to the extent higher pre-compaction pressures can be produced. It is self evident that thereby the lifetime of the engine increases and the costs decrease compared to a conventional turbocharger. In the shown embodiment the feed water is pre-heated in the recuperator-heat exchanger 1.

FIG. 4 shows a special embodiment of the representational invention: the bypass-accumulator 43 of mineral mass can be heated electrically by use of an external energy source. When required more or less driving gas which flows towards the burner 8 is conducted through this bypass-accumulator 43 controlled 44. The gas mixture is thereby heated and saves fuel, to the same extent that it can absorb heat from the bypass-accumulator 43.

The external energy source represents the breaking energy of the vehicle which produces electrical energy through the generator 46 coupled to the wheels 47 for heating 45 of the bypass-accumulator 43. The other way around, during the driving operation these drive gears are driven by the internal combustion engine.

In reality a 50 kg heavy mineral bypass-accumulator 43, which can be heated up to a temperature of 2000° C. (for instance magnesite), can absorb the entire breaking energy of a 30 ton truck on a decline of 500 m. This accumulated energy can be used again after passing the decline for the acceleration of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 shows also the embodiment of a recuperator-heat exchanger 1, through which all possible fluid and gaseous media are conducted in separate heat exchangers. In that way there is a heat exchanger part available for each: for the exhaust gas 2, for the combustion air 3, for the feed water respectively drive steam 4 as well as for the fuel 5.

FIG. 5: Through the shown flattening of the aperture angle 27 of the divergent nozzle parts 24 of the Laval-nozzle 22 to <3° the Laval-nozzle can be extended with a multiple and to the same extend its heat exchange surface towards the driving steam can increase.

FIG. 6: Through the shown distribution of the total driving stream of the driving gas to more accordingly diminished Laval-nozzles 22, the total exchange surface also increases. The more small Laval-nozzles 22 are used in doing so, the bigger the effect of the enhancement of the heat exchanging surface will be.

FIG. 7: This embodiment shows that the Laval-nozzles 22 can be used not only for transporting combustion air but also smoke gas from the smoke pipe 19. The driving steam leaking from the driving steam outlets 26 flows together with the smoke gas to the suction chamber 33 of the injector 31 and is subsequently compacted after passing through the mixing tube 35 within the injector diffuser 37 from the downstream exhaust gas turbine 38.

FIG. 8: through the shown flattening 34 of the conventional round nozzle-sections of a Laval-nozzle on an expanded but the other way around diminished section 29, the exchange surface also increases to a considerable extent.

The represented fissure of the interior surface of the smoke tube 19 or the burner 8 enhances the heat exchanging surface to about the same extent in which the surface opposite to a smooth surface of burner 8 or the smoke tube 19 is enhanced. 

1-21. (canceled)
 22. An internal combustion engine comprising: an exhaust gas turbine in which the hot air produced in continuous combustion is relaxed; an ejector pump in which necessary hot gas overpressure is at least partially generated; a recuperator-heat exchanger downstream of the exhaust gas turbine in which the necessary hot gas overpressure is at least partially generated, wherein residual heat from discharging exhaust gas is transferred to a flowing in medium, and driving steam is continuously renewed during expansion in a Laval-nozzle by heat transfer from a heat accumulator from outside the ejector pump.
 23. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein the driving steam is renewed during the expansion within the Laval-nozzle with heat from a burner and the driving steam heated to the extent leaks from a nozzle outlet.
 24. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein compaction of a gas mixture flowing towards the exhaust gas turbine occurs exclusively through the ejector pump.
 25. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein the recuperator-heat exchanger is designed as a counter current heat exchanger whereby fluid and gaseous components in corresponding heat exchanging parts flowing into the internal combustion engine are conducted towards an exhaust gas mixture flowing out.
 26. The internal combustion engine according to claim 25 wherein in the recuperator-heat exchanger the exhaust gas mixture is cooled down to the condensation temperature of the steam from the flowing off exhaust gas mixture until it reaches an exhaust gas outlet.
 27. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein before the Laval-nozzle inlet the driving steam is conducted through the recuperator-heat exchanger, which re-extracts heat from the exhaust gas after the exhaust gas turbine and subsequently it is conducted optionally through a steam superheater, which absorbs heat from the burner at a smoke tube connected downstream.
 28. The Internal combustion engine according to claim 27 wherein the heat transfer for steam renewal of the driving steam within the Laval-nozzle as well as for steam superheating of the driving steam in the steam superheater occurs by thermal connections to the burner and the smoke tube connected downstream.
 29. The internal combustion engine according to claim 28 wherein the entire heat used for pre-heating the medium to be pumped is conveyed to the medium to be pumped in the recuperator-heat exchanger respectively in the burner already before its compaction in the injector.
 30. The internal combustion engine according to claim 29 wherein the ejector pump pumps smoke gas at least approximate atmospheric pressure from the burner to be operated and subsequently compacts it in the injector before leading it over into the exhaust gas turbine.
 31. The Internal combustion engine according to claim 30 wherein the combustion air and the driving steam with residual heat from the burner to be operated with fluid, gaseous or solid fuel is pre-heated in the recuperator-heat exchanger
 32. The internal combustion engine according to claim 31 wherein the smoke gas is cleaned by means of a smoke gas filter connected between the combustion chamber and the exhaust gas turbine.
 33. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein an enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzle is achieved amongst others by separating a propulsion jet steam into more, parallel oriented Laval-nozzles, each absorbing a part of the total steam stream.
 34. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein the enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzles is achieved amongst others by a flattening of the admission section.
 35. The internal combustion engine according claim 22 wherein an enhancement of the heat exchanging surface in the Laval-nozzles is achieved amongst others by flattening of an aperture angle of divergent nozzle parts to less than 3° at a corresponding lengthening of a longitudinal axis of the divergent nozzle parts.
 36. The internal combustion engine according to claim 22 wherein the Laval-nozzle is used for pre-compacting the charge air for a conventional internal-combustion piston engine.
 37. The internal combustion engine according to claim 27 wherein the driving steam consists of a homogeneous mixture of feed water and fluid fuel and this mixture is conducted through the recuperator-heat exchanger, subsequently through the steam superheater as well as subsequently through the Laval-nozzle.
 38. The internal combustion engine according to claim 23 wherein parallel to the gas stream which flows to the burner, a heated bypass-heat accumulator is connected, through which the gas stream can be conducted by a control valve of variable dimensions.
 39. The internal combustion engine according to claim 38 wherein the bypass heat accumulator is heated by the breaking energy of the vehicle which is transformed in a generator into electric current and this internal combustion engine can be used in the same way as driving engine for a vehicle.
 40. The internal combustion engine according claim 35 wherein the residual heat in the exhaust gas which still exists after the recuperator heat exchanger is used for heating purposes or as process heat through a heat exchanger.
 41. The internal combustion engine according to claim 40 wherein the burner and the smoke pipe have an enhancing fissure on their interior surfaces. 